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Kōrero: Law of the foreshore and seabed

Auckland waterfront, 1864

Image
Auckland waterfront, 1864

While Māori customary rights to dry land were recognised by European settlers and governments, their rights to the foreshore and seabed were not. Settlers proceeded to develop the foreshore for wharves, as here in Auckland, without attention to Māori traditional use of the shore. This view is from Albert and Hobson streets, looking north to Mt Victoria.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Reference: 4-8973

by James D. Richardson

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Mark Hickford, Law of the foreshore and seabed – Māori rights, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/8528/auckland-waterfront-1864 (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Mark Hickford, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009, updated 1 January 2015.